Data Anonymization

What is it?

Data anonymization is a process of anonymizing your database in relation to the historic outreach work you have done and the data collected. Essentially, it involves clearing all database records from your account and aggregating the information that has been captured from them over time. This aggregated information is then displayed on your Results tab in a graphical format that makes the information clear and easy to interpret for your organization.

Why would I use this?

If you are concerned that you do not have a legal basis for holding data on voters from a recent or historic campaign then you may want to use the data anonymization functionality.

What does it look like?

Simply, you will see your citizen database disappear except for those people that have consented to allow you hold personally identifiable data about them. At the same time, your Results tab will populate with a graphical representation of each of the data points that you have collected from your campaign. Data like voting intention, demographic data, canvass statuses and so on will all display as graphs or pie charts. You will be able to filter results based on specific canvassing Efforts as set up in Ecanvasser.

How it can help you?

Data anonymization has three major benefits for campaigns. Firstly, it is a great way to retain historic information about your voters so that you can build intelligence within your organisation. You will be able to look back through canvassing campaigns and learn from them. Secondly, it will help you to remain compliant with data protection obligations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). And thirdly, for campaigns you will run in the future, you can get a head start on targeting groups and areas that have responded positively to your previous campaigns.

FAQ

Who can activate data anonymization?

Only Campaign Owners and Campaign Managers have the authorization to activate data anonymization.

Can I anonymize my own historic data if I import it into Ecanvasser?

Yes.

Does this make me GDPR compliant?

It helps greatly in ensuring that data gathered in recent or previous campaigns is held in a data compliant manner. Once the legal basis for holding personally identifiable data no longer applies, as for instance, at the end of an election campaign, then data must be deleted under GDPR guidelines. This functionality allows organizations to maintain the intelligence from those campaigns while deleting the personally identifiable data.

What happens to my database when I anonymize?

Your voter database will be permanently deleted.

Can I anonymize by Effort or does it clear the entire database?

No, when data anonymization is activated it applies to the entire database.

Do I retain the people who have consented to contact in my People page?

Yes you do. By default, persons who have given ‘consent to contact’ will be retained, unless you opted to include consented people when you activated anonymisation.